


Seven Years Too Late

by SailorTsunTsun



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Frozen Fever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 05:37:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13495970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorTsunTsun/pseuds/SailorTsunTsun
Summary: Their mental synchronization must have SOME explanation. And Anna’s determined to find it, even if everything was a lie.





	Seven Years Too Late

Here she is, in the kingdom of her ex-fiance.

Elsa assured her that she didn’t need to go if her past with Hans made her too uncomfortable in the Southern Isles, but honestly, Anna was looking forward to getting away for a bit, especially since she had just had her first fight with Kristoff. And she hadn’t exactly been making her best effort to forget about Hans. She knows it turned out to be a complete lie, but it was so nice to think that love could be that easy. She still wishes it could be that easy.

Maybe that’s why, once all the important royal business is taken care of, she finds herself walking toward the stables instead of toward the ship that’s going to take her back home. Back to Kristoff.

“Anna?”

“Hans?” Anna gasps at his disheveled appearance. She completely missed him as she passed by, and even now she almost doesn’t recognize him.  “You look awful,” she blurts out without thinking.

His shocked expression turns into one of scorn. “I heard Arendelle was sending someone, but I didn’t think it would be _you_. What are you doing down here in the stables anyway? Come to gloat?”

“What? No! Of course not! I just wanted to talk.”

Hans raises an eyebrow. “Talk?”

Anna groans. “Look, I know this is stupid. It’s just…the day we met. We were so in sync, it was amazing! Can something that rare really be a total lie?”

“Something that rare can _only_ be a total lie, Anna.” Hans shrugs. “I could only pull it off because you’re so predictably naive.”

She musters up all her self-control not to snap at the insult. “But no one else  _gets_ me like you did. No one else can complete my thoughts that well. Not my sister, not Kristoff…” Her heart aches as she remembers how she left things with Kristoff.

“Why does it matter? You should be glad they’ve never been stupid enough to understand that airy head of yours.”

“But why could _you_ ?” Anna runs her hands through her hair in frustration. “Why _you_?”

Hans sighs wearily. “I already gave you my answer. You’re simply too predictably naive. And desperate. And…lost.” He looks at the ground. “Just like I was.”

“Like _you_ were?” When Hans looks back up, he finds Anna staring at him intently, her wide eyes boring into his soul. He looks away again, and his eyes glaze over as he recalls his past.

“I used to be just as trusting and optimistic as you are. I loved reading fairy tales and other stories about dreamers with happy endings. I never worried about any of the world’s problems. I didn’t even care that all my brothers would have more power than me. I viewed them as my friends. And in some ways, my equals. I was perfectly content with the way things were.”

Anna smiles. “The old you sounds like someone I would’ve liked.”

Hans smiles back at her wryly. “Well, you’re about seven years too late, princess.”

“It doesn’t have to be too late.” Hans knows she’s merely offering him some semblance of friendship, but the thought of her offering something more makes his heart swell. He crushes the foolish fantasy immediately. When he doesn’t respond, Anna decides to give up for now and get back to the story. “What happened?”

“I broke a fragile little vase,” he says through gritted teeth. “My parents already didn’t care for me much, but they had always been indifferent toward me. They never got angry with me until that day. And my three eldest brothers—the people I so _stupidly_ looked up to—they decided that I wasn’t worth their attention anymore, so they acted like I was invisible. That’s when I first learned that you can never count on anyone to be there for you when you need them most.”

“It doesn’t have to be like that, Hans. When I thought Elsa abandoned me, she came back. And now we’re closer than ever! Sure, it might not always work out the way you want it to, but it’s okay to trust people. It’s not too late for you.”

Hans narrows his eyes. “Why are you really here, Anna? Did you and your new boyfriend get into a fight?” He spits out the word “boyfriend” with disgust. When Anna doesn’t respond right away, he scoffs. “Really? You can’t even handle a little fight with your boyfriend, so you come here to see _me_? I take back what I said. You’re nothing like I was. You have everything I wanted, and you’re giving it all up.”

Anna raises her chin indignantly. “I haven’t given up.”

“Then why are you here?” he snaps. “You want the perfect love you thought we shared? Well, it doesn’t exist. But since when do imperfections bother you anyway? Where’s the girl who could smile through anything? The girl who kept reaching out to her sister after being rejecting time and time again? The girl who thought…” His gaze softens as he remembers the day he met her. “…who thought love could open doors?”

She looks down, recalling the exact same memory. “I almost forgot about that.”

“Good.” His jaw tenses as he turns away from her. “Now go after your precious true love.”

Anna stares at him, baffled. Despite his bitterness, she has to admit she feels much better than she did before coming to see him.

“Thank you, Hans,” she murmurs. “I’m sorry we didn’t meet earlier.”

“Don’t be.”

“I’ll try to visit again someday.”

“I won’t be waiting.”

There’s a long stretch of silence before he finally hears her footsteps. He doesn’t look up until she’s several paces away from him, and he watches her leave until she’s completely out of sight. As hard as it is to think about his past, he found a little short-lived joy at imagining what his life could have been like if he met Anna a few years earlier. She’s the most kind-hearted, bright-eyed person he knows.

She really isn’t anything like him.


End file.
